I’m Christopher Ruz, Australian author. I tell lies for money.

I’m a full-time author/publisher working under two pseudonyms. Christopher Ruz is where I publish my serious science fiction and fantasy work, such as my ongoing horror serial Rust, my science fiction novella The Eighteen Revenges of Doctor Milan, and my fantasy trilogy Century of Sand, which will arrive mid-2019 from Parvus Press.
Meanwhile, I publish pulp spy novellas under the name D. D. Marks, including my most popular omnibus, Agent 806.

How many times have I rewritten this sucker now? Too many. But I have a plan for this novel now, and I’m confident I can really make it sing. Just gotta find the time in between revising Century of Sand 2… It’ll happen. I promise. — CEMETERY DOGS A YOUNG ADULT HEIST CAPER Chapter One — I kept the pedal to the floor until the sirens had faded into the distance. My brother William was in the back of...

It’s taken a while to get all the ingredients right, but Rust Four is out of the oven and into all major ebook stores. And let me tell you, friends – this book gets heavy. “That’s what you think we are? Soldiers?” “Mrs Archer, it’s been a war since day one.” Kimberly Archer fought her way to the border of Rustwood looking for an escape. Instead, she uncovered the town’s greatest secret – and with it, brought the attention...

Hey, friends! Remember RUST? It’s been a billion years since I released Rust Three. Life got in the way, you know. You see, I became a full-time teacher. Then I sold a trilogy to Parvus Press. Then I wrote a cyberpunk novel and, and, and… A lot of excuses, sure. But right now, Rust Four is returning from beta readers, the cover is looking fiiiine and I’m prepping for launch. I know it’s been a long wait. I sincerely appreciate...

Deadlines mean I don’t spend as much time on reddit as I used to, but I was messing around there today and remembered that woah, I posted an 8-part horror serial there just as I was wrapping up my Masters of Teaching. For those who’ve never been to reddit or aren’t familiar with r/nosleep, it’s a forum where people post serial horror stories as if they’re fact. Reddit users can respond to the ongoing stories, giving advice or encouragement, but...

Okay so I KNOW I have a novel due in 3 weeks. And I KNOW I have two other books (Rust 4 and Cemetery Dogs) that’re aaaaalmost ready to launch and I should be putting my spare time into them. And I KNOW that I won’t have time to work on this seriously for another year or two. AND YET I WROTE IT. And I need your help. This opening chapter is made of two scenes: a wide-perspective introduction to the...

Updates! A couple weeks back, I submitted the first revised draft of Century of Sand to my editors at Parvus Press. It was a big moment. A lot of hard work went into that rewrite. A lot of darlings got put up against the wall out the back of the chemical sheds. The opening 600 word scene of the old novel became a 2400 word chapter. The original chapter 1 grew into chapter 1, 2, 3 and 4. Later in the novel,...

There’s good news, bad news, and more good news squeezed into this update. Indulge me, friends. THE GOOD NEWS I recently signed a deal with Parvus Press, a relatively new but highly professional US-based publishing house, to revamp and republish the Century of Sand trilogy. I’ll be working with them closely over the next 12-18 months to restructure, edit and polish Century of Sand 1, 2 and 3 into a fresh fantasy epic. Each novel will hit ebook stores in six month...

No shit, replies every author who persisted long enough to find an agent. I’ve been trying to find an agent for my work sporadically since I finished my third novel, Alpha Slip, in 2010. I’ve learned a lot about writing and the industry along the way (completing 10 novels and twice that many novellas will do that). What I’ve mostly learned is that querying agents is rough. You get ignored more than you get rejected. You get rejected more than...

God Factory? On submission with international agents. Century of Sand 3? With beta readers. Rust 4? Just passed 46,000 words (out of an estimated 80k). Ruz? About to go on two weeks of writing holidays. Expect books soon, friends.

I’ve just wrapped the first draft of Century of Sand 3. This is the longest it’s ever taken me to write a book. The first draft of God Factory took six months. The first draft of CoS1 took eight. Nine years, though? To be fair, I started CoS3 while I was still drafting CoS1. The whole trilogy formed as a whole, and I wrote the final, final scene of CoS3 (in an embryonic form) some time in early 2008, before...